Skewball was the name of an 18th-century British
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
, most famous as the subject of a
broadsheet ballad
A broadside (also known as a broadsheet) is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between th ...
and folk-song.
History
The horse was foaled in 1741 and originally owned by
Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, (3 September 1678 – 17 January 1766), styled Viscount Rialton from 1706 to 1712, was an English courtier and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1712, wh ...
, and later sold. His name has been recorded as "Squball", "Sku-ball", or "Stewball".
He won many races in England and was sent to Ireland.
The Irish turf calendar states that he won six races worth £508 in 1752, when he was eleven years old, and was the top-earning runner of that year in Ireland.
His most famous race took place on the plains of
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...
, Ireland, which is generally the subject of the song of the same name. The early ballad about the event has Skewball belonging to an Arthur Marvell or Mervin. Based on the horse's name, Skewball was likely a
skewbald
Skewbald is a colour pattern of horses. A skewbald horse has a coat made up of white patches on a non-black base coat, such as chestnut, bay, or any colour besides black coat. Skewbald horses which are bay and white (bay is a reddish-brown colo ...
horse though he was listed in stud books as a
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
.
Songs
There are two major different versions of the
sporting ballad, generally titled either "Skewball" or "Stewball"; the latter is more popular in America. There are multiple variations within the two major divisions. Versions date at least as far back as the 18th century, appearing on numerous
broadsides. In both songs the title horse is the underdog in the race, up against a favored grey mare (usually called either "Griselda" or "Molly"), and although in most versions of Stewball the winning horse triumphs due to the stumbling of the lead horse, Skewball wins simply by being the faster horse in the end. Probably the most significant lyrical difference in the songs is the conversation Skewball has with his jockey, while Stewball behaves more like a typical horse and does not speak.
The oldest broadside identified with the ballad is dated 1784 and is held by the Harding Collection of the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford. The song had spread to America by 1829 when it was published in a songbook in Hartford. American versions were sung and adapted by slaves in the Southern United States, and have Stewball racing in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. British and Irish versions, when the setting is mentioned, usually place the race in Kildare, Ireland, leading some to believe that the song is actually Irish in origin.
[''Old Dublin songs'', ed. Hugh Shields (Dublin, 1988), ] The grey mare was owned by Sir Ralph Gore, whose family had gained a great deal of land in Ireland with the Protestant Cromwellian invasion (starting in 1650), which probably accounts for the delight in Skewball's win "breaking Sir Gore" in the final lines of this Irish-based broadside.
[
The song is in the ]Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
, #456.
Recordings
A notable recording is by American folk legend Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
, who included an English and an American interpretation (both entitled ''Stewball'') on tape, and recorded in Volume 4 of The Asch Recordings (1930–1940). The American interpretation is a chain-gang
A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...
song sung by Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
and Guthrie with an African American 'call and response
Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
' style, while the English interpretation is derived from the traditional British broadside ballad
A broadside (also known as a broadsheet) is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between the ...
, and sung to a cowboy waltz tune. The American interpretation has Stewball as being born in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
with the famed race against the grey mare taking place in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
. Lead Belly recorded several versions of this song, and the music and lyrics from his version appear in ''American Ballads and Folk Songs'' by Lomax and Lomax. John and Ruby Lomax also recorded a version by a "Group of Convicts" in their 1939 ''Southern States Recording Trip'', available online at the American Memory site.
Lead Belly's American chain-gang version of ''Stewball'' was covered in the 1950s by The Weavers
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...
, and then by British skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan
Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...
.
Guthrie's cowboy version of the British ballad, with the same lyrics but a different tune, was recorded in 1961 on the Vanguard album ''New Folks'' by John Herald
John Herald (September 6, 1939 – July 18, 2005) was an American folk music, folk and Bluegrass music, bluegrass songwriter, solo and studio musician and one-time member of The Greenbriar Boys trio.
Biography
Herald was born in Manhattan in 193 ...
and the Greenbriar Boys
The Greenbriar Boys were an American northern bluegrass music group. who first got together in jam sessions in New York's Washington Square Park.
Biography
In 1958, guitarist and vocalist John Herald formed The Greenbriar Boys, along with Bob ...
, and subsequently covered and popularized by Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
. Their version, however, has lyrics from a different perspective, where the singer wishes he had bet on Stewball, as opposed to Johnny Herald, who encourages others to do so, because he "never did lose." ''Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' described the Peter, Paul and Mary version as "a hard-driving, rhythmic ditty about a race-horse who has a preference for wine." Other versions of this version of ''Stewball'' include Mason Proffit
Mason Proffit was an American country rock band from Indianapolis, Indiana, that released five albums between 1969 and 1973. They are known for their song "Two Hangmen", which garnered a significant amount of Album Oriented Rock airplay.
History ...
on ''Wanted'' (1969), which differs in a number of lyrical changes (including the grey mare stumbling) from Peter, Paul, and Mary's version, Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
's on ''Joan Baez/5
''Joan Baez/5'' is the fifth solo album and third studio album by American folk singer Joan Baez, released in October 1964. It peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The single " There But for Fortune" reached number 50 on the Billbo ...
'' (1964), The Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
on ''Would You Believe Would You Believe may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Would You Believe'' (Billy Nicholls album) or the title song, 1968
* ''Would You Believe?'' (Hollies album), 1966
* ''Would You Believe'', by Ray Charles, 1990
Songs
* "Would You Believe" (song), ...
'' (1966), The Four Pennies
The Four Pennies were an English Beat music, beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song "Juliet (The Four Pennies song), Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States duri ...
on their ''Mixed Bag
''Mixed Bag'' is the debut studio album by Richie Havens and was released in 1966. Although it was Havens' first album release, Douglas Records later issued two unauthorized albums of material that had been recorded prior to the ''Mixed Bag'' ...
'' LP (1966), and the Chad Mitchell Trio
The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group who became known during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early compositions. They were particularly notable for perf ...
on ''Reflecting'' (1964).
Popular British versions include recordings by A. L. Lloyd
Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982),Eder, Bruce. (29 September 1982A. L. Lloyd - Music Biography, Credits and Discography AllMusic. Retrieved on 2013-02-24. usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English fo ...
, Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...
, and Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...
on the album ''Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again
''Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again'' is the third album by Steeleye Span, recorded in September 1971. It was issued on the short-lived Pegasus label, and then the Mooncrest label, also in 1971 (Crest 9). It was not initially issu ...
''. The song has also been recorded by Irish musicians Andy Irvine and Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age.
Initially popular for playing ...
as "The Plains of Kildare" on their duo album '' Andy Irvine/Paul Brady'', in 1976.
A French song called "Stewball" (or also known as "Il s'appelait Stewball") was recorded by Hugues Aufray
Hugues Jean Marie Auffray (; born 18 August 1929), better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Aufray is known for French language covers of Bob Dylan's songs. Aufray knew Dylan and his work from his time in New ...
in 1966, becoming one of Aufray's biggest hits. However, this song (written by Hugues Aufray and Pierre Delanoë) is unlike the English-language songs of the same name, although the adaptation was created after Aufray met Peter, Paul, and Mary, along with others such as Bob Dylan in a trip to the United States. Aufray's version takes the perspective of a man recalling an experience as a ten-year-old boy. His father believes that Stewball will win a race, so he puts all his money and assets into this venture. Toward the end of the race, Stewball tragically falls. The veterinarian finishes him off with a single shot. This is the first time that the narrator witnesses his father cry. Aufray's song is very different in that it features Stewball not winning his race and dying due to an injury. This version was also later translated into the Czech language by Milan Dvořák, becoming widely known as a campfire song.
Also of interest are the renditions of the song by Doris Day
Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
that she had recorded in 1985/1986 for her TV series ''Doris Day's Best Friends'':
a solo version released on the American edition of her CD-album '' My Heart'' (2011) as well as
a duet version with her late son Terry Melcher
Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...
released in 2014 on the CD-album ''Music, Movies & Memories''.
The melody was also the basis for the song "Happy Xmas (War is Over)
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reach ...
" by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band, which has become a Christmas standard since its release in 1971.
References
External links
Old Town School of Folk Music on Skewball
{{Peter, Paul and Mary
1741 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Thoroughbred family 21
Peter, Paul and Mary songs
Joan Baez songs
Songs about horses
Woody Guthrie songs